Search

The debate over free speech at universities continues to rage across the English-speaking world, including in this country. But what does the data show? Read more

Bryan Perry’s regular reports for the Ministry of Social Development represent some of the very best that New Zealand’s public sector has to offer. Statistics New Zealand runs the surveys on household income and household expenditure. Read more

If you are a political reformer, New Zealand should be your oyster. You could turn around a failing education system. Read more

According to a quote sometimes attributed to George Orwell, “journalism is printing what someone else does not want published; everything else is public relations.” Whether Orwell actually said it or not, it is a useful definition. There are whole armies of PR and comms people trying to make you swallow their predetermined messages. Read more

As a bit of police theatre, it was outstanding. Police responded to a complaint about a home in Wanaka flying an allegedly racist red flag with an ominous black insignia inscribed within a white circle. Read more

A dinner game Gather round, children. I have a sad fable to tell. Read more

Budget 2022 allocated just over $2.5 million a year, over four years, to the Customs Service to help it stop cigarette smuggling. I wonder whether it will be enough. Read more

What does an unemployment rate of 3.2 per cent have in common with apples rotting on the trees in orchards? Both are signs of an overheated labour market. Read more

On Sunday, the government announced an extension of the petrol excise and Road User Charge holiday, as well as half-price public transport, until the end of the year. The Beehive’s press release said that the move would reduce headline inflation by 0.5 percentage points. Read more